Royalty
by headtrip parade
Summary: Maddie's first trip to the CMAs ever- and it's as a nominated artist. An expansion on a previous drabble.


**So here is a one-shot expansion on my drabble of the same name, which can be found in the first installment of '100.' I tried to write the press scene as awkwardly as they always seem to be on TV, haha. :) Also, I based the dress on a real vintage Chanel that I found online and I promise it's not as ugly as it sounds. Coco herself designed it for a prominent business man's wife in the 60's. ;) Anyway, here's some fun stuff since we're all starving on what the actual show is feeding us. Enjoy! **

* * *

Maddie stared at herself in the mirror, taking in a deep breath as she fiddled once more with the soft tendrils framing her face. She hadn't consciously noticed, but she her lips had begun moving again to the tune of practicing her speech; a thank you speech she'd been writing since she was 12 and perfecting it every day of the last seven years; a speech she had been so confident she'd be giving for so long, but now the possibility seemed light-years away.

She exhaled again, turning her chestnut eyes downward and focusing on her "welcome bag." It was a lovely assortment of various knick knacks, gift cards and make-ups, among other things, from the top designers and local businesses. Atop it all, however, lay the most puzzling and awe inspiring item in the kit—a congratulatory letter for her first nomination from the president of the Country Music Association himself.

She'd read it at least 90 times, she thought, but it didn't stop her from trailing her contacts over it again.

_Dear Maddie Jade…_

She swallowed, barely even recalling the circumstances that had led to her using her middle name as her professional moniker. The entire situation had been a jumbled mess and it was painful, if she were to tell the truth. Teddy had all but gone batshit crazy in his possessiveness over her when it came to Deacon. By the time she was 16, the secret was public and his antics had driven her to such turmoil that she had to have a conversation with him mapping out in detail the path they were on—he was, whether intentionally or not, pushing her away. She tried to tell him that she loved both of them and that she _could_ have both of them in her life. She begged him to be supportive of her relationship with her real father and her dedication to the musical bond they shared, while also promising that he would _always_ be her dad and he had nothing to fear in that regard.

Alas, he couldn't.

When she signed with Jack White and 3rd Man Records a mere four months after her 18th birthday, she didn't have to think twice. Sure, she was still a Conrad on paper, but she was a Claybourne.

Even still and despite everything that had transpired she couldn't find it in her heart to completely shed Teddy and shame him by using Deacon's name. In a way, she felt as if refusing both last names was the best way to come into her own as not only an artist, but as a young woman trying to find her feet amongst the rubble of everything that had crashed around her in the last six years.

So she went with the two names that were completely, 100% hers.

* * *

The flashes were blinding and the chatter from the press line was borderline deafening, but she fought through it with a genuine smile on her face.

She glanced backwards, catching sight of her parents speaking with a reporter a few feet away. As it had always been for so many years, Rayna Jaymes spoke so enthusiastically about whatever was going on, while Deacon Claybourne grinned and nodded in agreement, saying something to the effect of, "I couldn't say it better."

Maddie herself grinned at the display, just in time for a blonde reporter at least five inches shorter (_with heels, _she thought) to hold a microphone branded with 'CMT' on all four sides up to her face.

"Maddie, would you mind talking with us for a minute?"

Maddie smiled graciously.

"Not at all!"

"First off, Maddie Jade," the reporter waved her hands in the air excitedly, "I have to comment on your dress. It's so festive and fun, but stunning at the same time! I really get the vibe that you're just here to enjoy the night!"

"Oh, definitely," Maddie grinned shyly, taking her own look at her gown. The top was a bright, multi-colored yet subtle plaid design, while the skirt of the dress was a sheer purple fabric that delicately covered a plaid bottom. "I was shopping with my mom and we found this vintage Chanel. The dress literally popped out at me and I knew immediately I wanted to wear it tonight."

Maddie laughed nervously after her statement. Her mother had done a relatively fantastic job at shielding her from the media, even when all hell was breaking loose. Whether it was the divorce or the leak that Deacon was her father, Rayna was nothing short of a lioness protecting her cubs from predators.

As such, and Maddie was also sure genetics played some small role, she often found herself camera shy when giving interviews. She could play for stadiums full of people, but a camera in her face made her excitedly uneasy.

"Well, I love it!" The reporter continued. "I'm also loving the album! _'Dirt on My Crown' _is nominated for Album of the Year tonight, while the title song is nominated for Single of the Year and you're nominated for Best New Artist AND Female Vocalist! WOW!"

Maddie laughed nervously, unsure if there was a question in there somewhere.

"Yeah, it's pretty surreal. It's so awesome, though."

"You opened up for Juliette Barnes on the spring leg of her tour a few months ago… while you were on the road with her she often mentioned your parents, the great Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne, and touted you as 'Country Royalty.' Is _'Dirt on My Crown' _a reference to that title?"

"Um," Maddie began awkwardly, looking anxiously around for anyone to come save her. "I've never thought of myself in that role. My mother and father have obviously achieved great success and respect and I could only ever hope to receive a fraction of what they have, so that title, whether it's from the press or from Juliette Barnes, is a little intimidating. I've been writing songs since I was 12 years old and there have been ups and downs in my life, as there are in anyone's life. I'm just any other girl who writes those ups and downs on a sheet of paper."

The reporter nodded, clearly unsatisfied with the answer but thoughtful enough to roll with it. Maddie grinned shyly again, the nerves beginning to take over. The show would be starting in less than ten minutes.

"Okay, well, Maddie I see your folks headed this way so I'm going to let you go get on into your seat. Thanks so much for talking with us and good luck to you tonight!"

Maddie smiled nervously but brightly; instantly reinvigorated at the prospect of the interview being over.

"Thank you so much."

She walked calmly away from the CMT crew and towards the door leading into the arena, lightly placing a hand over her lurching stomach. Approximately seven minutes until all of her dreams would be dangling over her head like ever fragile icicles; her biggest fear being they would be too delicate not to break.

* * *

Deacon smiled and shook the hand of what seemed like the 457th passerby to stop at his seat during a commercial break and say hello.

He sighed, leaning over to Maddie.

"I really have no idea who most of these people are," he whispered. She grinned slightly, but didn't bring her eyes up from her lap, where she nervously twiddled her manicured thumbs.

He let a painful smile play across his face, knowing full well every bit of excitement, longing, and _fear_ that was coursing through her veins at that very moment. He'd caught her looking at the program every 30 seconds to confirm exactly when Best New Artist—the first award on her docket—would be given out. He noticed that the last time she looked that it would be immediately after this commercial break.

"Darlin'," he began, placing his hands over hers and giving a reassuring nod to Rayna, who sat on the other side of Maddie and had looked up from her phone just in time to see the exchange. "Look at me."

She looked up at him and in that instant it almost took his breath away at how grown up she was. Loose pieces of hair had fallen from her braided up-do and framed her face so exquisitely. Her eyes, showing her maturity simultaneously with her childlike fear burned into his, while the make-up on her face left little doubt that she was indeed a woman now and no longer his little girl.

It still pained him slightly to think about how brief that moment was for both of them.

"I have to tell you how proud I am of you. It doesn't matter if you get up on that stage at all tonight—I couldn't be more excited. You're so talented, Maddie. And special. I may not have been around before but I thank God every day that I'm here now with you, watching you do this."

Maddie gripped his hand, a tear sliding down her cheek.

He looked up at Rayna, who'd also started to tear up. She placed a comforting hand on Maddie's back.

"Anyway, I'll stop the sappy stuff but I just wanted to tell you. I really am so proud of you, sweetheart. You're the best song I ever wrote."

* * *

_"…and the CMA for Best New Artist of the Year goes to…"_

_She sighed hard. She was country royalty—when they could get a glimpse into her young life, the press had dubbed her the "Princess of Country," so she wondered how her first trip to the CMAs wasn't until now at 19. She'd been raised by the six crystal awards sitting in her mother's living room._

_She'd finally made it, though. She was here, between her parents, grabbing each of their hands and squeezing hard._

_She wanted this so badly her stomach lurched. She held her breath._

_"Maddie Jade." _


End file.
